24 uur van Le Mans 2022
After a three-year wait, I finally returned to the 24 Heures du Mans. What had been my annual photography and motorsport highlight until a few years ago was back in full swing. 244,000 spectators gratefully attended. This time, my friends and I immediately attended the autograph session upon arrival, and there was also the opportunity for a pit walk. Hordes of visitors crowded the tables for a signature of their hero, a selfie, or free goodies.
But what was also fun was that there was a pit stop competition for the teams. We could watch the teams take turns making pit stops to see who could change tires the fastest. It was great to experience this up close.
On Wednesday, it was time for action, with the first practice sessions and qualifying session. The qualifying session determined who would advance to the Hyperpole session on Thursday evening. During the practice sessions, we visited various locations around the track. Watching the night practice sessions at various locations was especially spectacular, with the glowing brake discs as they braked after a long straight.
The race was contested for pole position in each class for half an hour. After some confusion over deleted lap times, Brendon Hartley in the #8 Toyota ultimately took overall pole convincingly. In LMP2, Dutchman Robin Frijns was 1.3 seconds faster than the rest of the field, quite impressive.
The race kicked off at 4:00 PM on Saturday afternoon. This was an hour later than in recent years, and it actually felt too late. From noon on, very little happened in the support program. All the support races were still in the morning. So it felt like a longer wait than usual for the cars to finally arrive.
The race looked poised for a close race. In practice, the front of the field was tight between Toyota, Alpine, and Glickenhaus. But Glickenhaus took a cautious approach to bring the car to the finish. It did earn them a podium finish, as Alpine suffered several problems and incidents.
The race was mainly between the two Toyotas, and there wasn't much excitement in that respect. Ultimately, it was the #8 Toyota that was just a little faster.
It was the last race for the GTE Pro class. This class will be replaced by GT3 cars next year, which is a real shame. Even with a smaller number of cars, it always produces good battles.
At first, it looked like the Corvette C8R was going to be a target. But on Saturday evening, after a beautiful sunset, things went terribly wrong for both cars, with problems for both within half an hour. And on Sunday morning, one car crashed out of the race just as the other's retirement was confirmed, a very painful experience. Porsche thus took the win in its class, a fitting farewell to the 911 RSR.
LMP2 had a field of 27 cars. This naturally made for a fantastic battle. Throughout the race, the leaders took turns. It was a matter of getting through the race as flawlessly as possible and, of course, pushing the gas pedal hard.
Several incidents also shaped the course of this race. Experience was key, and Jota proved why they've been consistently on the podium for nine years running.
And it was great to see Ben Keating win in GTE-AM with the 4 Horsemen Racing/TF Sport Aston Martin, after being robbed of victory at scrutineering the day after the race in 2019. Thankfully, we were spared that kind of trouble this time.
Even though the battle at the front wasn't the most exciting, it was still fantastic to attend this mega-event. As a motorsport fan, it's truly a must-see. You can get so close to everything. You can see the cars in action in so many different locations and under all sorts of conditions. And there's plenty to do around the event. Next year marks the event's 100th anniversary. With the return of Porsche, Ferrari, Cadillac, and Peugeot, among others, in the top class, it promises to be a fantastic battle with a whole bunch of new cars. I'll do everything I can to be there then. Now, all I can do is enjoy the photos!
